


Feelings, Hugs, Ugh. (maybe not as bad as she thinks.)

by girlsarewolves



Series: exchanges [18]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-10-14 22:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20608454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlsarewolves/pseuds/girlsarewolves
Summary: Summer in Gravity Falls isn’t the same without Stan around.It isn’t that Wendy doesn’t love working for Soos and Melody. She does. She especially loves and enjoys their much more easy-going personalities, and the way they laugh off her dry humor flavored laziness, or how they let her friends come over so long as they don’t play games with the merchandise. Honestly, she’d be hard pressed to say they weren’t her dream bosses.But they’re also impossible to rile up, they’re sickeningly adorable together, and they aren’t nearly as entertaining as Stan was. Okay, there’s Soos’ Abuelita, but that woman is a treasure - even if she has major boundary issues.Truth be told...Wendy kind of misses the old codger.





	Feelings, Hugs, Ugh. (maybe not as bad as she thinks.)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DesertScribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertScribe/gifts).

> This is my first time writing Gravity Falls fic, but I was happy to give it a go! I hope you enjoy it, dear reader!

* * *

Summer in Gravity Falls isn’t the same without Stan around. 

It isn’t that Wendy doesn’t love working for Soos and Melody. She does. She especially loves and enjoys their much more easy-going personalities, and the way they laugh off her dry humor flavored laziness, or how they let her friends come over so long as they don’t play games with the merchandise. Honestly, she’d be hard pressed to say they weren’t her dream bosses.

But they’re also _ impossible _ to rile up, they’re sickeningly adorable together, and they aren’t nearly as entertaining as Stan was. Okay, there’s Soos’ Abuelita, but that woman is a treasure - even if she has major boundary issues.

Truth be told...Wendy kind of misses the old codger.

She tells herself she’s being ridiculous - he was a grouchy, stingy, greedy, old man who might have only half meant the threats he was constantly shouting and grumbling at her, but he was still a major buzzkill, not to mention a major pain in the butt of a boss. Also he was gross, he was cranky, and he had stupid rules. Not to mention that time he helped Dipper expose Robbie’s mind-controlling song that Robbie most definitely didn’t write for her, and okay maybe that was for her own good, but her point still stood - Stan was weird and sleazy and annoyingly bossy.

And oddly supportive, and never followed through on his threats of firing her no matter how bad of an employee she could be, and also talked to her like a person instead of talking down to her like a kid. He could also be hilarious and for a conman who’d sell his own soul for a buck, he was probably one of the most loyal dudes she’d ever met.

So whenever Soos comes into the shack, over the moon with excitement because Stan and Ford sent a postcard, she might act like she doesn’t feel as excited as her lovable new boss does - but that’s all it is. An act,. Whenever Ford calls to make sure his house is still standing, and Stan takes the phone to make sure Soos isn’t running the business into the ground, Wendy takes the phone and talks like she doesn’t care at all to hear from him when it’s honestly great to hear his crotchety voice again. And any time the subject of Stan and Ford coming back to visit comes up in conversation, Wendy always just responds with a super bland, “Whatever,” that, judging by Melody’s hand covering her obvious smile, is totally an obvious cover for how happy that idea makes her.

It’s super embarrassing. But so much of her past couple of summers revolved around Stan - and later the twins. And while the twins are back - spending the summer with Soos because it’s too dangerous to send them off to see Stan and Ford since they’re in the middle of the Arctic Ocean or...somewhere, Wendy doesn’t even remember anymore - and it’s awesome, it’s still not the same.

Stan was kind of the life of the party.

Not that Mabel doesn’t give him a run for his money. That girl is the most hyper creature on this Earth, and honestly Wendy is tempted to tell Ford maybe he should study her for a little while, but Wendy loves it. It’s like a mini Stan sometimes, except more squeaking, more pink, and way more arts and crafts.

The twins have sprouted roughly half a foot - with Mabel’s half inch edge over Dipper becoming a full inch, maybe an inch and a half to make the difference a little more obvious. It’s hilarious how much Dipper tries to hide the fact that it bugs him. He’s also sporting a few whiskers that look more awkward than mature, and Mabel’s love of colors has definitely translated into her newfound make-up styles. 

Girl’s gonna bring the 80’s back into style if it kills her.

“I think you miss Stan!” Mabel shouts, popping up out of nowhere behind Wendy only seconds after she’s handed the phone back to Soos. She still has a bad habit of that - how does someone so loud and so bright constantly sneak up and startle people?

Wendy flinches only a little. Otherwise her cool and unaffected demeanor remains the same, and she scoffs while praying that Stan’s connection went out for the five seconds it took Mabel to yell those words. “What? As if. I’ve got it made now. Soos and Melody are like, the chillest bosses in the world. I can almost get away with murder these days.”

Mabel’s still grinning maniacally, shaking her head. “Nope. You miss Grunkle Stan and his cranky ways. I think you have it too easy, and you don’t like it!”

“Nope. I love it.” Wendy pauses, though, cause she’s acting kind of like a guy - but then, with her dad and all those brothers, she acts like a guy a lot more than she means to - and pretending she doesn’t have emotions. Ugh, feelings. Embarrassing and nonhormonal driven feelings. But she sighs. “Maybe I miss him a little, for all his weird and gross old man-mannerisms. Sometimes.”

“I knew it!”

“Mabel, I swear, if you try to matchmake me with your Grunkle -”

“Ew! No way! Just trying to get you to embrace healthy communication skills and better expressing your feelings and to understand sometimes we love people, even if we don’t get why. But it isn’t always romantic love.” Mabel deepens her voice comically when she says ‘romantic’, making Wendy laugh.

“Okay, okay. So you’re saying maybe I should just say ‘Come home and visit us, you stupid codger,’ instead of ‘See you around. You know. Whenever.’ That it?”

Mabel slaps a ‘ur smart!’ sticker on Wendy’s shirt, just barely avoiding socking her right in the boob, and it takes all Wendy’s self-restraint to not make a smartass comment on the chosen spelling for the glittery prize twinkling on her chest now. 

But she is ripping it off as soon as she ends her shift and walks out of the Mystery Shack. Pink and glitter are not her thing. Ever. No matter how many feelings she has and learns to ‘express’ to Mabel’s satisfaction.

“Now you’re getting it! And would it kill you to just say you miss him?”

“Yes. It will literally kill me.”

* * *

The elder Pines twins come back near the end of August. 

Summer is winding down, school registration already starting, and Wendy wants to hurl herself from the Gravity Falls water tower instead of signing up for another year of the agony and torment that is high school. She’s half tempted to ask if they need a third party on their ship when they head back out - hunting down mysteries and fending off monsters is way easier than Algebra and peer pressure and all the stupid cliques.

There’s a huge banner, hand painted in neon and glitter, that reads, “Welcome Home, Grunkles!” hanging over the porch of the shack when Wendy finally gets there. Thankfully the summer’s been relatively normal - well, for Gravity Falls anyway - and everyone’s tied up with that end of summer rush into school and work and the shift of family tourists to old and bored leaf-peeper tourists, so no parties - which means no karaoke, no zombies, no ‘we survived’ shenanigans.

After spending three hours in a line to sign herself up for Purgatory, Wendy isn’t in a partying mood. And, maybe, just maybe, she kind of wants to be able to enjoy having Stan and his brother back without lots of other people around who are mostly there for the food and party favors.

Confetti flies in her face the moment she walks in, though, and before she’s able to clear her vision and gather her bearings, Mabel’s grabbed her hand and is dragging her forward. 

“They’re here, Wendy! They’re here!”

Wiping all the flecks of colored paper off her face, Wendy can see that yes, Stan and Ford are indeed there. It’s a little weird, seeing Soos - eyes full of happy tears - dressed like he’s going as Stan for Summerween, hat and all, next to Stan himself who looks so much like Ford right now that Wendy almost wonders if the twins are playing a ‘guess which one is which’ game.

She’s really happy Mabel and Dipper can’t do that, because if they could get away with it, they absolutely would. She’s sure of it.

“I think Wendy could have seen that for herself if you hadn’t sprayed her in the face with all that extra confetti, Pumpkin.”

Something warm and familiar and a little nostalgic flares up at the sound of that old and scratchy voice, confirming that yes, Stan is Stan. Embarrassingly, Wendy finds herself all but flinging herself at him to give him a hug - and Wendy Corduroy does not do hugs. But here she is, hugging Stan Pines, acting like an overexcited kid. 

Kind of like Mabel.

“Whoa. Uh...thanks. Missed you too, Wendy.”

Wendy’s fairly certain her face is almost as red as her hair when she pulls back, but she begrudgingly has to admit it. That was nice. It felt good. Still does, even. She’s not about to become another Mabel or anything, but, maybe this whole ‘expressing your feelings’ thing isn’t so bad after all.

“Welcome back, you old codger.”

“I made cookies shaped like dinosaurs, everybody eat them now,” Soos’ Abuelita announces as only she can, carrying in a huge platter of said dinosaur cookies, probably sugar cookies. The edges are visibly burnt - Abuelita and the shack’s kitchen still getting to know each other and so far, don’t seem to want to cooperate.

They’ll still be delicious - even Abuelita’s burnt food makes Wendy’s mouth happy.

“Dinosaur cookies _ and _ Stan is back? Is it my birthday? I thought that already happened - did we play laser tag on a different day and just say it was my birthday? I am so confused.” Soos scratches at his head, tipping the hat forward until the tassel is dangling in front of his eyes.

Everybody laughs, Melody reaching over to move the tassel back and kiss Soos on the cheek. “No, that was your birthday, Soos, today is just special.”

“Oh, okay. A second birthday, then! The Mystery Shack crew all reunited!” Soos reaches around, his arms ensnaring them in an epic group bear-hug of epic hug proportions. “God bless us, everyone!” 

“Soos, if you don’t let go of me, you’re fired.”

“Sorry, Mr. Pines.”

They feast on crunchy but yummy dinosaur cookies, Stan and Ford telling them about all the weird and wonderful things they’d encountered in the year since they left, Mabel and Dipper interjecting often and at random to ask a million different questions. Every few minutes Soos tries to hug Stan again, only to wilt away when fixed by one of Stan’s patented staredowns.

Wendy can’t help but laugh. It’s like no time has passed, everything falls back into place like it used to be. It’s funny how comfortable and easy it feels, like a second home and a second family, all together again.

Later, Dipper busts out his new camera he got for helping him catalogue his own findings whenever he gets the chance to explore. They take dozens of pictures - and two days later, when Wendy gets her copies, she tapes a few of her favorites around her mirror. 

At the top are her two favorites. The first one is everybody all leaning in together, making funny faces. The second is her and Soos and Stan - Soos hugging a scowling Stan who’s holding up two fingers behind Wendy’s head, unaware that she’s doing the same thing. The OG Mystery Shack Crew.

Wendy can’t think of a better way to have spent the end of summer.

* * *

It’s a week later when they head out. School’s back in, summer is officially over - no matter what the calendar says about the first day of autumn being in like, two and a half weeks. The twins have already taken the bus home, and there were plenty of hugs and tears and ‘I’ll miss yous’. 

It’s just Soos and Wendy there to see off Stan and Ford, though. Soos is crying like he’s at a funeral, trying to cling to Stan while Ford just laughs and discreetly takes pictures. Wendy’s going to text him later to send her those.

“Okay, Soos, enough! Or you’re fired, and I’m making Wendy the new manager!” Stan puts a hand on Soos’ face and pushes him away, Soos finally relenting at the threat that Wendy knows is fake.

She laughs anyway. “Aw, yeah, Woman of Mystery, I like the sound of that!” She’s so glad it’s an empty threat, the thought of running a business is one of the scariest things someone could offer her. All the responsibility. Makes a girl shudder. Thank goodness high school wouldn’t let him go through with it even if he meant it.

Guess school is good for one thing, then.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Pines, it just went by so fast! You guys need to visit more often.” Soos looks like a sad puppy who knows his human is leaving for vacation without him.

“I think we can work that out,” Ford offers as a comfort. “We won’t be traveling so far for a while.”

Soos brightens up immediately, arm moving back in a, “Yes!” motion as he shouts the word.

Wendy smirks and comes over, giving Stan another hug - not quite as enthusiastic as the one she gave him the day he got back. But still. Hugs are a big thing for Wendy. “It was nice to have you back, Stan. Maybe you should listen to Soos, he might be onto something with that visiting more often idea.”

“Guess he might have some good ideas in that strange mind of his after all,” Stan teases back. He steps back, a little awkward, then just pats her shoulder. “Take care of yourself, Wendy. And don’t slack off on the job so much, or I’ll fire you over the phone.”

“Nope. Gotta be here in person for that.”

Stan gives her an annoyed look and lets out a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. Guess I’ll have to come back soon for certain then.”

“Looking forward to it.” Wendy moves over to hug Ford, just whispering, “Send me those pics,” while she does, and then goes to Soos’ side, elbowing him gently to try and perk him up. “Chin up, big guy. They’ll be back soon, right?”

“Whatever.”

“Absolutely.”

The two men give each other a look, and then smile at them before getting into the car. It’s weird this time around, how watching them leave makes her sadder than it did the first time they left. There’s a knowledge of how much she’ll miss Stan that she didn’t have back then, but she keeps a smile on her face, for Soos’ sake.

“There goes the greatest man in the world,” Soos says somberly as the car shrinks into the distance.

Wendy doesn’t want to disagree.

* * *


End file.
